A-B InBev Takes to Twitter to Fight Watered-Down Beer Charges

Brewer Gets an Assist From 'Old Media' Reporting

Budweiser
Anheuser-Busch InBev has taken to Twitter to vigorously defend itself against lawsuits claiming that Budweiser, Michelob and other brands overstate their alcohol contents.

The brewer had a PR battle on its hands earlier this week when the Associated Press ran a story on the class-action lawsuits, which were filed in Pennsylvania, California and other states. Within a few hours, stories about "watered down" beers and "buzz-killing" Bud spread across the internet.

Justified or not, the coverage served to neuter the so-called King of Beers, at least temporarily.

But the brewer got a major assist Wednesday night from hometown TV station KSDK of St. Louis, whose "I-Team" hired an independent lab that tested Bud finding that it contained 5% alcohol by volume, just as it is labeled. The news also drew the attention of NPR, which also commissioned an independent test that backed the brewer.

And in a no-brainer PR move, A-B InBev took those results and blasted them on its various twitter handles, even paying for promoted Tweets. It's worth noting that the brewer up until very recently had stayed off Twitter. So here's betting the folks in St. Louis are glad they are on board now.

Then again, does any of this matter? Absurd or instructive? Let us know below.